To do list for pregnancy in South Africa

So you're pregnant for the first time, congratulations! It will be the most special time of your life! Pinterest is a great tool to gather information, but can often be pretty irrelevant for South Africans.
I'm a planner by nature and I love working off lists and knowing in advance what I need to do. This is obviously a list drawn up based on my experience, but your hospital, medical aid and circumstances will affect how this all works out for you.
Here is a list I wish I had to work from:
(Bare in mind that I was pregnant 2016/2017 so prices would have increased since then)

First trimester (0-13 weeks):
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• Start drinking folic acid (Clicks brand is really cheap and great)
• ​Find a OB/GYN and the hospital you would like to give birth at
• If you’re on medical aid, you’ll have to find out what the plan covers and also how much you will have to pay in to the doctor for the delivery.
• Hear from your medical aid what your benefits are and what is covered

​Costs:

• Gynae appointments (we only had a hospital plan, so we had to pay cash for each appointment, approx. R1000). You're gynae will probably want to see you every 4 weeks, but you can ask to push it to 6 weeks if you have an uncomplicated pregnancy.
• Blood tests - I took a blood test to confirm pregnancy which cost about R150 (Side note: if you peed on the stick and it said you're pregnant, you're pregnant. Wait a bit longer till you can see the gynae if you'd like to save costs)
• Your gynae will also recommend going for Down syndrome tests at the end of the first trimester. I'm not sure what this costs as we decided to not do the test.

Second trimester (14-26 weeks):

• Start drinking prenatal vitamins with Omega (Preg-Omega is the most popular, about R280 per month)
• Let your employer know you are expecting and start researching UIF and maternity leave
• Decide if you want a midwife/doula assisted birth or if you’re going to stick with your gynae. You’ll want to start seeing the midwife for appointments. You will probably have to pay in depending on what your medical aid covers.
• More tests: I did so many blood and urine tests that I can't even remember all of them, but here some that I had to go for: bladder infection, blood test to see if I had immunity to the Rubella virus, blood test to see what myself and Justin's blood types were because of the Rh factor* and probably a few more. (cost can be anywhere between R150-R600 per test depending on what it's for)

*Here is an article describing what this is all about: https://www.acog.org/Patients/FAQs/The-Rh-Factor-How-It-Can-Affect-Your-Pregnancy
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Freebies:

• If you're with Discovery, you will be able to get a gift box with a whole lot of cool goodies from Babies R Us. Give them a call and they will send you an email with a letter that you can take with to collect your box. I received a taglet blanket, a baby book and a lot of samples.
• Dischem gives away a baby bag with a few samples to their members too. You have to spend R600 (more or less) at any store and go for a health check-up at their clinic before you can receive your bag.

Those are the only ones I know of, please leave a comment if you know if any other great freebies!

Third trimester (27-40 weeks):

UIF:
I decided to go through an agency to save myself the headache, and it was so worth it! I emailed all the documents and never had to set foot in any building to sort out admin. I used following company: http://www.mothersjoy.co.za/
It should cost you no more than R1000 in total. You can only apply for UIF with an agency from approx 4 weeks before your due date. They will however only be able to send the documents through to the department once the baby is born and they have received a birth certificate. Don't worry though, the agency will guide you through the process.
FYI: You have to have a own bank account in your own name for UIF to pay out.
I have no idea how claim from UIF directly? Anyone have a clue? Please comment!

Booking your hospital bed:
At 26 weeks pregnant, you are now at viability which means that if baby is born, chances are he/she will survive. Yay!
You will have to pay an admin fee to book your bed of about R500 - this fee could include a free 4D scan, registration with the Department of Home Affairs and baby’s first immunization. You may also get a free baby bag with goodies (but don’t count on getting that before you leave the hospital)
You will need your medical aid card and the ID's of mother and father to book your bed. Make sure you give yourself enough time at the hospital because you will be filling in A LOT of paperwork.

Getting pre-authorization from Medical Aid:
As soon as you’ve booked your bed, you will receive a document from the hospital and your gynae with the practice numbers, ICD 10 code, procedure code etc. You can then phone your medical aid and give them all these details and receive authorization from your medical aid. You should also ask them to send you the documents to register your new baby as soon as he or she is born.
Some medical aids require you to inform them of your pregnancy by 12 weeks, so I would suggest giving them a call at 12 weeks as well. (I’m on Discovery and I phoned them for the first time at 27 weeks, and it wasn’t a problem)

PRO TIP: I kept every single document, including our ID's in a file which I kept with me all the times. I'm SO happy I did this because when I was admitted to hospital suddenly, I was able to give my husband the file with everything in it so he could sort out the admin with ease.

Pediatrician:
There should be a pediatrician present at the birth, so make sure you get a pediatrician that is covered by your medical aid if you don't want to pay extra.

After baby is born:

• ​UIF - send through your baby's birth certificate to the agency
• Paediatrician - they will want to see the baby before you go home or a week later, at 6 weeks and then at 6 months. Our pediatrician cost R850 per consultation. (First consultation is usually more expensive)
• Register baby on your medical aid within the first few days. You will send through a form and the birth certificate.

TIP: Download the "Scanner App" on your phone so you can easily sort out your admin and email it directly from your phone.

So that's about all I could think of! If you're a mommy who has been through this and can add anything, please feel free to comment!











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